Michael19887

Traveler Dave

lhrhappy

He really does. I disagree because my time is more precious than my Hilton points and my money, but it's pretty good advice for someone looking to maximize a stay.

Splotly

passionforhotels

Yes, I'm not disagreeing that there are advantages to staying overnight in Male - as mentioned in my posts , so you're recapping what I and others have already stated. Where I disagree is with the assertion that if you stay five nights, you get a longer stay than if you're there for six nights, or if you arrive at 10.30am, you're arriving there earlier than someone who got there at 1am the same day.

My point: there are TWO options for arrival when your international flight lands too late for seaplane transfer, each with its advantages and disadvantages. First time visitors should be aware of this and make a decision based on what's important to them. I don't think it's right to say that the only option they have is to overnight and transfer the following day. That works for many - and that point has been made here over and over and over again - but it may not work for all.

alanslegal

A family we met at the Conrad in 2017, who we just met again in London last week, went to the Conrad via private dhoni boat (afer a 5 day cruise)- they were on the Dhoni Stella boat.

They inform that the 100kms it takes between Male and the Conrad usually takes around 7 hours but they did it in 5 days so they could spend most of that time cruising and surfing around the South Male atolls. The cost is approx. US$1k per day including 3 meals/day excluding alcoholic beverages. Did not ask if water/soft drinks/juices were provided.

Majuki

Last week was our first visit. A consideration for us was that we were arriving close to one of the last domestic flights of the night. Had we opted to get to Rangali the same night as we arrived we'd have had to do the domestic flight plus boat transfer, and people mentioned getting to the hotel at 1 or 2 am local time. Coming from halfway around the world and doing an overnight in Malé didn't cause us any undue stress about getting through passport control and getting the suitcase quickly. It was a bit disorienting when we came through the exit of the customs area and took a minute to find where everything was. I know if we had gone the domestic flight plus boat route that we would have been frantically searching for where to go to make sure we didn't miss the last flight of the night.

Also, imagine this being your first time in the Maldives and missing the last flight of the night. You're then stuck paying the "resort price" for that missed night plus a walk up rate at a hotel near the airport or in Malé. Instead we could take things slowly and enjoy our time that evening and use the next morning to adjust. The Hotel Jen put on a good breakfast, and we request (and received) an afternoon transfer by seaplane to the resort. We arrived late afternoon and still had a few hours of sunlight left to explore and managed a quick swim in the water off of our villa as well as in the pool that evening. The fruit and drinks upon arrival sustained us until the next morning when we were up well before breakfast started and had already gone for an early morning swim before venturing over to Vilu.

I think it's a matter of personal preference, but we enjoyed the slower pace of spending the first night in Malé and haven't looked back. Given all of these considerations, I think we'd do it exactly the same way if we ever make it back to that resort in the near future.

MaldivesFreak

No-one has said those two things (except yourself).

No-one has said that either.


+1. Excellent advice.

captainamerica

I'm looking to stay 10 days at the conrad maldives either in mid december or mid january. Mid December is much more convenient for my schedule but I'm worried about the rain. Weather data shows December has the most rainfall of any month which has me concerned. Has anyone been to the conrad in December? Is it as bad as summer months? I dont want to pay for high season rates to get the same rainy experience as July offers.

MaldivesFreak

There was some discussion about this some tens of pages back. 10 nights will be fine so I really wouldn't worry about it. If you do want an opinion, I suggest you ask tom-schmitt as he stays there every December (late December through early January) and has so for the last 10 years so he would be the best one to give you a 'report'.

tom-schmitt

captainamerica

Thanks for the information Tom. We actually wont mind a few days of rain since it's beautiful to experience too. I just don't want to risk 7+ out of the 10 days its raining (which I've heard happens in the summer months). Right now we're reserved for dec 10th - 20th which has me concerned because I hear the beginning of december is much worse than the end.

dein_gesicht

Given you have such good knowledge of the resort (and this would be my first time). I'm seeing a flight that lands at 11:55am should I go directly to the resort via seaplane or hang out at the airport hotel? While days are limited, if it is worth our while to take an extra day for holiday then I will do that

MaldivesFreak

With a noon arrival you can expect to take
1. 30min to go through customs and get baggage
2. another 20-30min to do seaplane check-in and get to the Conrad Lounge. That's 1PM
3a. You could leave right away after arriving at the lounge but you should be prepared to expect to wait another 2 hours until departure (an almost worst case scenario) so a 3PM departure would be quite possible
3b. with a 4PM departure (worst case scenario) if things aren't going to schedule on that day for whatever reason
4a. Add another 30-45min for the seaplane ride (30min if direct, 45min if stopping at another resort on the way to drop off their pax) and then add another hour for the time difference which makes for a 4:30-4:45PM arrival
4b. and if you're delayed and have to wait for the extra hour mentioned above you'll be looking at a 5:30-5:45 arrival

So you're looking at an arrival of either
a) between 2:30-2:45PM for an immediate departure from the Conrad Lounge (remember that these happen more often in the early morning rather than in the afternoon)
b) between 3:30-3:45PM for a standard, 1hr wait until departure from the Conrad Lounge
c) between 4:30-4:45PM for a 2hr wait, i.e; an almost worst case scenario departure from the Conrad Lounge
d) between 5:30-5:45PM for a 3hr wait, i.e; a worst case scenario departure from the Conrad Lounge
I would be using 'c' above as a guide for my itinerary if I were planning a trip to Rangali.

Check-in formalities are usually completed at the Lounge if there is time. If not, it will take 30min for this and for the host to explain everything and take you to your room. If you were looking at a 4:30-:4:45PM arrival, you could expect to be able to start enjoying the place at 5PM or just after. That would mean you'd have about 2 1/2 hours of daylight left.

Now let's say you arrive at noon but decide not to go straight to Rangali and added an extra night onto your itinerary (pay attention here, @passionforhotels ), and you overnighted in Male and requested to be on the very first seaplane out the next morning, you'd expect to arrive at say 10AM Rangali time. This would mean around 6 or 7 hours more time at the resort than you would in the above scenario, i.e; a noon arrival into Male and either 'b' or 'c' (6 hours being scenario 'b' and 7 hours being scenario 'c'). If you wanted to know how much more time you'd be adding to your vacation in paradise; it's roughly 6%. Doesn't sound like much but when you arrive you'll start appreciating just how valuable every hour is there.

Remember that if you would spend 5 nights there and not add an extra night to overnight in Male, i.e; check in at 1 or 2AM on the first of your 5 nights, (again, @passionforhotels needs to pay extra attention here, ) you'd be losing 13% of your vacation time. Add the difference between the two and you will have spent around 15-16 hours more at the resort than someone who checks in after midnight. With a noon arrival, however, you'd be losing out but not quite as badly - somewhere in the middle of best and worst check-in times.

If you are able to get into Male a night early, by all means do so. You will not regret it. 5 nights will fly by way too quickly. That I can guarantee you! And if you can get a redeye out (say, after 9PM) then take that option too. As I have said before in this thread many times, arriving early and getting a late departure from Male will give you many more hours at the resort - in fact half a day on average - which you will appreciate and appreciate for a long time after you've gotten back home. The golden rule to maximize your time and enjoyment in the Maldives is to sacrifice a bit of convenience before and after, i.e; get there early and leave late. There aren't many places you can do this in the world so you might as well take advantage of it whenever you can.

That's the long answer to your question. The short answer is yes. Reason(s) being even with a noon arrival you are only going to have a bit of daylight and half the day will have been wasted. Arrive in Male at noon, go see the museum which others have suggested, have a traditional Maldivian dinner at one of the restaurants there, then get a good nights' sleep for a mere 100 bucks and arrive at the resort at the earlist possible time, not in the least bit tired because you'll be 100% refreshed (and you'll probably have enjoyed 2 breakfasts!) and be ready to enjoy what Rangali has to offer.....

Tilly71

We went end of Jan, first week in Feb this year and Sun nearly everyday, a few showers but around 6pm.